Grilled Chicken Salad

Posted by Lori:

Tonight we had Grilled Chicken Salad for supper.  For some reason when I woke up this morning, that is what popped into my mind. 

Do you ever have found memories of a food and it takes you back to a certain time that really didn't have anything to do with the food itself but your relate it to that?  That's what Grilled Chicken Salad does for me.

Almost 10 years ago we lost a baby.  A sweet little boy.  Caleb was stillborn.  The weekend before we lost him, we knew there might be something wrong.  (To read my devotional blog post about Caleb, click here.)

Our friends (he was also our preacher) invited us to their house to eat on a Saturday night.  They knew about the possibility of something being wrong with the baby and they wanted to help our family. They served delicious Grilled Chicken Salad. I had ordered salads like that at restaurants, but never made it at home.  Of course the grilled chicken was good, but the homemade Hidden Valley Ranch dressing made it even better! It was simply served with a few types of lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.  Nothing fancy at all....and that's just how we served it tonight, too.

So, tonight as we ate around the table as a family, I mentioned the memory I have with the salad.  Of course none of the rest of my family remembers what we ate that Saturday night like I do.  My memory is tied to the friendship we shared and to what happened during the next week's time.  Just a few days after that we found out Caleb had died.  Actually it was probably that very Saturday night, according to the doctor's calculations.

Let me leave you with a thought today, instead of a typical recipe:  Never underestimate the power of food when added with friendship and love.  For you, you may simply be taking a dish to someone who is just getting home from the hospital, or for someone who has lost a loved one, or for someone who has had a baby.  It may not seem like a big deal.  But for the recipient, maybe you are creating a memory that will stay with them forever.  A memory of your friendship and caring and love.